Sierra Leone Telegraph: 21 April 2022:
President Julius Maada Bio has completed a conducted tour of development projects – including works at water supply sites, mini-grids and road networks that are taking place in his hometown of Bonthe, under the supervision of the Ministries of Energy, Works and Water Resources.
At the Bonthe Water Supply Project sites which is fully funded by the Government of Sierra Leone, the President was greeted and taken around by Minister of Water Resources, Philip Karimu Lansana; the Board Chairman of the Sierra Leone Water Company (SALWACO), Mohamed Alieu Jalloh; Managing Director, George Lamin Vandi; Deputy Managing Director, Albert Harrison Harvey; and the SALWACO team.
Other ongoing projects in Bonthe include green energy solutions and mini-grid electrification, as well roads construction.
The President also visited teaching staff and students of the Bonthe Technical College, now affiliated to Njala University, a rural comprehensive public research university with its main campus in Njala and Bo.
On 19 June 2021 Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay, symbolically erected electricity poles on Bonthe Island to mark the physical commencement of the Bonthe City Electrification Project. He said, at the time, that the Bonthe Island project was behind other township electrification projects in implementation because it was among the second set of towns approved for the project.
For many would be dictators , having the power and the wealth that goes with it , and failing to deliver any tangible results for their peoples during their tenure in office is not enough. Putting their village or town of birth in the map is never part of their manifesto promises .But as history have shown they always deliver for their own communities despite pleading the country is economically broke . The fact remains they always managed to find the money under the sofa to develop their towns and villages whilst the rest of us shock on our thumbs.Think of Momoh in Binkolo ,just a stone throw form Makeni .Apart from the suffering their citizens have to endure during their time In office , building a town or city in their place of birth that will be remembered long after they have left office is a matter of prestige and maybe preparing the ground work for their retirement.A fact that have deluded the rest of population that suddenly starts to ask the difficult question why can the president apply the same degree of enthusiasm to promote government funded projects in other parts of the country that voted for them or never voted for them, but for political reasons have been collectively punished for daring to support a different party that is not In power ?When we talk about African dictators making good in giving a face lift of their homestade it can’t get any better than Mabutu Sese Seke’s Xanadu village Gbadolite called paradise in the middle of the jungle in the Congo forest.Where once the world’s fastest aircraft Concorde have a special runway constructed to meet his and some members of his family needs for shopping for luxury items in Paris , New York, London and Milan .In Bio’s case Dubai , Lebanon, and Turkey.This totalitarian vision builder is not limited to Mubutu or Bio alone , there is the city of Yamussoukro slap down in the middle of Ivory Coast, conceived and built by their son Felix Houphouiet Boigny .Sani Abbach former Nigerian dictator built Abuja.Maybe if Bio gets re-elected and gets his way we might all find ourselves trekking to Bonthe his home village to have an audience with our local Members of Parliament.Because we have to relocate State House and the Sierra Leone Parliament in that part of the country.what he is doing for the people of Bonthe is good because we don’t know how long it will take them to produce an other failed Pesident.We are not jealous good on them .I wish his government never stops the road constructions linking Falaba to the rest of country .In terms of development projects I just wish Bio can show the same degree of commitment for the rest of the country.North , South East and West .
Its pathetic that Mr Jalloh didn’t read or understand the terms of reference for the re-construction of water supply and electrification of Bonthe Island. Bonthe, Moyamba, Pujehun, Kailahun have been deprived of basoc amenities of light and water for so long that at least we should acknowledge the good intentions of the Bio Government. Light and water are basic human rights issues that the Ernest Bai Koroma denied the people of Sierrra Leone. Bonthe is a provincial head quarter town that deserves light and water (badic needs). President Bio is not building a palace in Bonthe. Electricity and water will be provided to six provincial towns including Kabala, Kambia etc. in Sierra Leone under the Rural Renewable Energy Project, AfDB and MCC. Please read MOUs before you start sarcastic and unreasonal aspersions and comments. Do you want everybody to live in Freetown and young men sprawling around in shop fronts and selling two pairs of socks? Do you want uneducated and unprepared young men moving to Freetown and doing nothing but complaining about lack of jobs rather than undertaking farming (goat, sherp, avocado etc) or rural industries instead complaining about lack of jobs?
This is a positive news for the inhabitants of Bonthe due to the fact they used to enjoy these facilities until the 80’s.
Water, electricity and roads combined with Education and good health facilities can be embarked on by only the government which supposed to be basic necessities for our citizens. This will definitely encourage people to relocate and involve in Agriculture which will eventually boost our Gross Domestic Products(GDP) and improve our Human Capital Development.
Finally, I believe that this is a testament of true compassion for the people of Bonthe and should be replicated in other areas like Banana ,Ricketts and Bunce Islands which are tourists destinations.